Chapter 228: Prince Pingxi's Injury
The night grew increasingly heavy.
Yun Chu couldn't sleep at all, so she simply threw on some clothes and got up, picking up a book to read in the main hall.
Reading made her drowsy, her mind growing foggy.
She eventually had her maid bring out the account books and began reviewing them seriously, growing more alert with each page.
As time passed, midnight came and went, approaching its end.
Her anxiety grew increasingly intense.
She had thought that in this lifetime, aside from worrying about the Yun family and her two children, she would never care about anyone else again.
Yet because of one person, she found it difficult to sleep.
It must be because she feared Yu Ge'er and Changsheng would be heartbroken if they lost their father, just as she had been when she lost her mother...
"Miss, there's movement next door!"
Ting Xue rushed to report as soon as she heard the noise.
Yun Chu set down the account books and walked to the connecting door, quickly hearing the neighboring courtyard's gate open.
She saw two guards carrying a stretcher hurriedly heading toward the inner chambers. The person on the stretcher was none other than the children's father, Prince Pingxi.
Her heart involuntarily clenched.
She restrained herself, waiting until only a few loyal attendants remained inside before stepping through.
"Miss Yun."
Cheng Zongguan immediately bowed upon seeing her approach.
Before Yun Chu could ask anything, Chu Yi's voice came from the inner chamber: "Cheng Zongguan, who's there?"
Why did he think he heard Miss Yun?
The connecting door had been open for many days, but aside from the day she moved in when Yun Chu had visited his courtyard, she had never set foot here again.
And at this hour, well past midnight, she and the two children should have been long asleep. How could she possibly be here?
Chu Yi thought it must be the medicine he had just taken, giving him inappropriate thoughts.
"It's me."
A clear female voice came from outside.
Chu Yi abruptly sat up from the bed, accidentally pulling at his wound and gasping in pain.
Anxious, Cheng Zongguan pushed open the bedroom door.
Yun Chu saw Chu Yi lying on the couch just like that.
The man's upper body was unclothed, his chest wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages. The white cloth that had just been applied was already stained crimson with fresh blood.
She immediately averted her gaze, turning slightly to ask, "Is Your Highness alright?"
"Nothing serious." Chu Yi forced himself to sit up straight. "I've troubled Miss Yun with worry."
Cheng Zongguan quickly supported him, saying, "Your Highness, the imperial physician said you mustn't sit up. Please lie down quickly, don't let the wound reopen..."
"It's fine."
Chu Yi coldly maintained his upright position.
He felt thoroughly embarrassed.
First it was the caning.
Then being slapped.
Now stabbed by bandits.
Yun Chu must surely think him a useless man.
"Miss Yun, please persuade His Highness." Cheng Zongguan's beard seemed to have turned white with worry. "The imperial physician said the blade came dangerously close to his heart. If he doesn't rest properly, he'll suffer chest pains later..."
Yun Chu felt her heart leap with alarm and immediately said, "Your Highness, you should listen to the imperial physician. Rest well and recover soon, otherwise Yu Ge'er and Changsheng will worry."
Her voice left Chu Yi incapable of mustering any resistance.
He obediently lay back down."Here is another bowl of medicine that His Highness refused to drink earlier." Steward Cheng picked up a bowl of dark medicinal liquid from the low table and handed it to Yun Chu. "This medicine reduces wound pain, but His Highness deemed it unnecessary. Miss Yun, please persuade him. This old servant must check on Cheng Xu at the front courtyard—the boy is badly injured with no one to care for him..."
As Steward Cheng spoke, he promptly left, thoughtfully closing the courtyard gate behind him.
Yun Chu stared at the medicine bowl in her hands, paused briefly, then slowly turned and ascended the steps with composure, entering the room.
She extended the medicine bowl: "Your Highness should rest properly while injured. Drinking this medicine will help you sleep sooner."
Chu Yi pushed himself up from the bed.
Yun Chu frowned: "The imperial physician said you mustn't sit up."
Chu Yi looked at her: "How can I drink medicine without sitting up?"
Lying down would require being fed.
With only Yun Chu present... some things he dared not even contemplate.
He could simply tilt his head back to drink—it wouldn't actually affect anything.
He continued struggling to rise.
Yun Chu: "..."
After an internal struggle, she sat on the small stool beside the bed.
First, this courtyard had limited access, and the few attendants who could serve here were currently unavailable.
Second, this man was her children's father—she couldn't bear to watch their father suffer.
Finally, he had sustained these severe injuries while protecting the common people. Anyone who held the populace in their heart deserved respect. Feeding medicine was nothing significant.
Having thus fortified her resolve, she felt it was no great matter.
Yun Chu scooped a spoonful of the dark medicinal liquid. Fortunately, the medicine wasn't hot and required no blowing, otherwise she might have lost her composure.
She brought the spoon to the man's lips.
Chu Yi froze completely.
Were it not for the pain reminding him, he would have thought himself in a beautiful dream.
"Your Highness, open your mouth."
Yun Chu reminded him.
Chu Yi suddenly regained awareness and drank the medicine.
Extremely bitter medicine.
Yet somehow, it tasted sweet.
His gaze shifted to Yun Chu.
In the candlelight, she appeared even more gentle, evoking an irresistible urge to draw closer.
He gazed at Yun Chu without concealment.
Yun Chu grew increasingly uncomfortable.
Though long married, truth be told, she and Xie Jingyu had never been this intimate.
Instead...
Yun Chu inexplicably recalled that night five years ago.
Though the memories were unclear, vague sensations lingered...
She immediately bit her tongue.
How insane—how could she think of such things at a time like this.
"Your Highness, this is the last sip."
After finishing the medicine, Yun Chu exhaled heavily in relief, set down the bowl, and stood up.
Chu Yi was reluctant to let her leave.
But he had no reason to make her stay.
Yun Chu gently closed the door and turned to leave.
Shortly after her departure, Steward Cheng returned, entering quietly to report: "Your Highness, Miss Yun and the two young masters encountered some trouble today at the hot spring manor..."
A murderous intensity surfaced in Chu Yi's expression.
The north wind blew all night. Waking the next morning, Yun Chu truly felt winter's arrival.
She promptly had the children dressed in warmer clothing.
Chu Hongyu complained the thick clothes hindered running and jumping, squirming persistently to resist wearing them.After finally getting the little one settled and sending him off to the gate passage where someone would escort him to the Imperial College for studies, Yun Chu finished tidying up her young daughter before learning why Prince Pingxi had suffered such severe injuries last night.
Qiutong reported, "Shortly after His Highness took command of the Yun Family Army, the Emperor recalled eight thousand elite troops specialized in bandit suppression. Therefore, during this operation to capture the Bandit King, His Highness only brought Minister Cheng Xu. It was just the two of them who captured the Bandit King Yang Hedong alive."
Yun Chu knew that after the Yun Family Army returned to court, their duty was to guard the imperial capital and remain on standby for deployment, never to be dispatched elsewhere. Thus, even though Prince Pingxi had taken command of three thousand Yun Family Army troops, without the Emperor's explicit orders, they could not accompany him on bandit suppression missions.
Moreover, after Prince Pingxi moved out of the royal residence, he had returned several hundred manor soldiers to the imperial palace, effectively becoming a commander without troops. Only Cheng Xu remained by his side.
The Bandit King Yang Hedong, with just eighteen followers, had become a notorious bandit terrorizing regions north and south of the Yangtze River. She found it hard to believe that Prince Pingxi dared to pursue him with only Cheng Xu as backup.
That the man managed to return alive with his life could only be attributed to the protection of the royal ancestors.
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